gofer articles

Various ships of the New York City Staten Island Ferry service offer various kinds of boat seats. Some designs enable you to lay down flat almost as comfortably as on any other hard bench, while other kinds feature seats with what is supposed to be an ergonomic curvature that makes them unsuitable for laying down on.

Most times of the day, of course, a ferry’s boat seats wouldn’t be available for such a use anyway, seeing how loaded New York rush-hours can be, even for transportation to the so-called “forgotten borough” of Staten Island.

Other times, however, particularly on the weekends, seating is plentiful and many a commuter takes to them as to a bed, almost. You can be certain it’s a commuter, one who habitually travels on the ferry, because tourists are otherwise too busy oohing and ahhing over the sights.

After all, viewing Lady Liberty from the confines of ferry boat seats – none next to the windows face out – is nothing in comparison against leaning over the railing at her. And who wants to take pictures with the most famous statue in all of the United States from behind a glass window, anyway?

No, if you’ve come this far, well over a mile from the harbor of downtown Manhattan Island, you will experience her the way countless immigrants have, in passing in the open air, you are actually heading in the opposite direction, away from the city, in common with countless soldiers spanning two world wars.

Other differences exist, too, between the various ships employed by the Staten Island ferry service. Some offer a second storey observation deck of sorts, while others can transport cars as well. However, since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, vehicles have not been allowed on the ferry.